Right and left-hand can opener



I w. J. LANDRY 3,059,333

RIGHT AND LEFT-HAND CAN OPENER Oct. 23, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 27, 1961 V V i g INVENTOR.

IIITII-HIHIIII! Oct; 23, 1962 w. J. LANDRY 3,059,333

RIGHT AND LEFT-HAND CAN OPENER INVENTOR.

United Sites Talge Filed Sept. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 141,062 7 Claims. (Cl. 30-7) This invention relates to hand-operated can openers of the type wherein a can cutting wheel and a can rim feeding wheel are moved relative to one another to engage and disengage a can rim by pivoting two grasping handles toward and away from one another around a common axis, and refers more particularly to such a hand-operated can opener wherein the grasping handles are reversible whereby to permit the use of the can opener in either the right or left hand of the user.

It is well known in the art, as per my Patent 2,804,682, issued September 3, 1957, Squeeze-Pierce Can Opener, to provide hand-operated can openers of the type wherein a can cutting wheel is mounted on one grasping handle, and a can rim feeding wheel is mounted on another gra ping handle, the two grasping handles pivotally engaged at one end thereof and movable toward and away from one another to engage and disengage a can rim with the feed and cutting wheels. In operating a hand can opener of this sort, it should be noted that the operator conventionally uses a first of his two hands to squeeze the grasping handles together on the can rim to puncture the can and then uses the second of his two hands to turn the lever or handle which is connected to the can rim feeding wheel in order to move the can through the opener. Since both the can feed wheel and the can cutter are on a single side of the grasping arms so as to engage relative to one another, engagement of the can is on one side of the can opener with the can feed wheel operating lever or handle on the other side of the can opener from the can. The user naturally employs the opener with the can engaging jaws away from him to minimize any chance of cutting himself. This means that two persons with opposite handedness will not find equal convenience in using the same hand can opener. Normally, nonreversible type hand can openers are fabricated in the manner shown in my patent, supra, this arrangement generally putting a strongly left-handed person at a marked disadvantage in use.

Therefore, an object of the instant invention is to provide a can opener which is hand-operated and may be so manipulated as to be easily operated by either hand of the operator or by an operator of either left or right handedness.

Another object of the invention is to provide a right and left hand can opener whichis simple in construction, easy to manufacture, relatively cheap to construct and which is strong and has a long life of continuous use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a right and left hand can opener which may easily be changed from the right hand to left hand orientation, or vice versa.

Another object of the invention is to provide a right and left hand can opener of attractive appearance and very simple operation with easy interchangeability between the two sides of handedness.

Another object of the invention is to provide aright and left hand can opener wherein the ability to reverse the grasping handles whereby to changethe handedness of the can opener does not impair the effectiveness of the can opener in the can engaging, can punching land can cutting operations.

Another object of the invention is to provide a right and left-hand can opener which is constructable from a exceedingly accessible and available for replacement, cleaning and/or rep-air.

atent or l Another object of the invention is to provide a right and left hand can opener which is not of heavier construction or of more complicated appearance than a nonchangeable type hand can opener.

Another object of the invention is to provide a right and left -hand can opener which is constructable from a very minimum of parts.

Other and further objects of the invention will appear in the course of the following description thereof.

In the drawings, which form a part of the inst-ant specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith, an embodiment of the invention is shown and, in the various views, like numerals are employed to indicate like parts.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the subject hand can opener shown with the grasping jaws thereof slightly open, such as would be the case prior to engaging or grasping the rim of a can, the grasping arms in the usual com mercial arrangement (for a right hander) relative to the cutter and feed wheels.

FIG. 2 is a partial view similar to that of FIG. 1 showing the grasping head of the hand-operated can opener, but with the side plate of the view of FIG. 1 in the direction of the viewer removed.

FIG. 3 is a view like that of FIG. 2 but with the handles reversed to the opposite position.

FIG. 4 is an end View of the can opener of FIG. 1 from the left of the view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line 55 ofFIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 7 a view showing sequentially the stages of reversing the handles on the can opener to change handedness thereof, the view taken of the side of the can opener opposite to that shown in FIG. 1, the handles in full lines starting from the position of FIG. 1, and moving in dotted lines to the reversed position seen in the right-hand side of the figure.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the can opener showing the rear side of the operating face of FIG. 1 and the handle engageable therewith.

FIG. 9 is another exploded view of a portion of the can opener showing the reverse side of the operating panel of the can opener seen in FIG. 7 with the handle associated therewith.

Referring to the drawings, at 20 is generally designated the operating head which comprises two half shell members 21 and 22. Half shell 22 is particularly seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 8.. Half shell 21 is particularly seen in FIGS. 1 and 9. Referring first to half shell'21,'-an outwardly and downwardly angled boss 23 is formed thereon or fixed thereto which mounts cutter wheel shaft 24 which rotat-ably receives a conventional cutter wheel 25, retained on the shaft 24 by leaf spring 26 secured to shell 21 by screw 27.

Referring to the reverse side of plate or shell 21 in FIG. 9, a pair of shells 22 abutting bosses 28 and 29 are provided having engaging pins 30 and 31 extending therefrom. Other than the bosses 28 and 29, the back side of shell 21 is relieved in what will be referred to as the upper portion thereof 32, and the lower portions thereof 33. A hollow cutout zone 34 is adapted to receive the feed wheel as will be seen from the description. A leaf spring 25 is received between the upper edges of the bosses 28 and 29 and the lower edge of a third boss 36. A fourth boss 37 is provided also for engageable abutment with the shell 22. A connecting pin opening 38 is provided through the relieved portion 32 substantially centrally thereof. Pin-ways 39 and 40 open into the zone 34. Pin-ways 39 and 40 are cut more deeply into shell 21 than the recessed portions 33. Pin-ways 39 and 40 are also recessed more deeply than intermediate recesses 41, 42, 43 and 44, which are primarily to lighten the fitting and lessen any frictional resistance or engagement.

Turning to the other half shell 22, the outer face thereof is seen in FIG. 7, while the inner faces thereof are seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 8. The outer face is essentially featureless save for the edge bevels, which are design features, and the connecting screws 45 and 46 which pass through openings 47 and 48 in shell 22 and engage in threaded fashion internally threaded openings 49 and 50 in the cutter wheel carrying shell 21.

Referring to FIG. 8 particularly, bosses 51 and 52 are congruent with and abut against bosses 28 and 29' of shell 21. Holes or openings 53 and 54 receive in sliding engagement pins 30 and 31. Pin or shaft 55 is adapted to engage opening 31 in shell 21. A recessed upper zone 56 opposes recessed upper zone 32 of shell 21 to provide a groove or slot for the permanently connected handle 57. Handle 57 has an elongate slot 58 therein adapted to engage pin 55 continuously.

Recessed zone 59 of shell 22 or zones 59, oppose but are spaced from recessed zones 33 of shell 21 whereby to provide a slot or recess for disengage-able feed Wheel carrying handle 60. Shaft 61 rotatably extends through handle 60 and carries conventional feed wheel 62 on one end thereof and operating handle 63 on the other end thereof on the opposite side of the grasping handle 60. Pin-Way engaging pins or shafts 64 extend from the end of handle 60 and are adapted to engage in pin-ways 39 and 40 in shell 21 and 65 and 66 in shell 22. The pin- Ways 39, 40, 65 and 66 oppose one another whereby to provide a pair of dead end downwardly curved slots each opening into the cutaway zones 34 in shell 21 and 67 in shell 22.

Abutment boss 68 opposes and normally abuts against abutment boss 37, on shells 22 and 21, respectively. Recessed zones 69, 70, 71 and 72 oppose zones 44, 43, 42 and 41, respectively. Leaf spring 73 is received between the upper side of boss 68 and the under side of bosses 51 and 52 whereby to depend over the key ways 65, 66, 39 and 40, when the shells are assembled.

The engagement of the grasping levers or handles with the operating head in the two alternative positions (reverse handed) will be described and the operation in said positions.

Reference is first made to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, the full line showings of which all start in the same position. This is the normal arrangement of a standard righthanded hand type can opener. Of course, it is recognized that different people will grip this type of can opener with different hands and operate the lever 63 with different hands, independent of their handedness, under certain circumstances. However, this arrangement, as shown in the view, with the cutter wheel up, the feed wheel down, the feed wheel and the cutter wheel facing the viewer in the figure and the grasping handles extending to the right is the conventional arrangement. FIG. 2 shows the internal engagement of the two grasping handles in operating position in this arrangement. Thus, upper handle 57 has pin or shaft 55 all the way to the right hand end of the slot 58 in the handle. The lower surface 57a of the handle 57 rests on the leaf spring 35, compressing same against the top of the bearing surfaces 53 and 52. This resiliently works to advantage in cam rim height variation, but does not prevent positive action. The under side 57:: also bears on the upper edges of bearing surfaces 28 and 29 through spring 35, see FIG. 5. Thus it is seen that, in the operating position of FIGS. 1 and 2, the two shells 21 and 22 or the operating head 20 and the grasping handle 57 are fixed relative to one another save for play in spring 35.

Turning to the engagement grasping handle 60 with the operating head 20 in the operating positions shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7 full lines, the pins 64 on the end of the handle are engaged in the pin-ways 40 and above the intermediate recessed portions 59 and 33. Spring 71 overlies this engagement and tends to press down the upper end surface 60a whereby to maintain pins 64 seated in the said pin-ways 40 and 65. The pin-ways are overlaid by the slightly recessed portions 42 and 71 (spring 73).

With this engagement, the grasping arm 60 may be swung around the pivot of pin 64 in clockwise and counterclockwise rotation in FIG. 1, particularly clockwise, and clockwise and counterclockwise rotation in FIG. 7, particularly counterclockwise. This operation permits the engaging of the can rim, the punching of the can, and the cutting of the can by rotation of handle 63 in conventional manner.

The transfer or translation of the handles to the opposed position seen in FIGS. 3 full lines and 7 dotted lines will now be described.

First referring to the upper grasping handle 57, the description starts from the position of FIG. 2 and will translate into the position of FIG. 3. This is simpler translation of the two handles. Thus, as a first step, grasping handle 57 is pulled all the way to the right in FIG. 2 so that the pin 55 moves to the left-hand end of slot 58. The handle 57 then may be rotated in a counterclockwise direction 180 to a position approximately that, but not precisely that of FIG. 3. In this described position, the pin 55 is at the end of the slot 58 closest to the end of the handle. Handle 57 then must he slid from left to right in FIG. 3 to the position of engagement of pin 55 with the left-hand end of slot 58 in the view. This again gives a rigid fixed engagement between the operating head 20 and operating arm 57 save for play in spring 35. In all cases, it should be noted that there is a definite seating of the under side 57a of handle 57 on the top left or right-hand edge of abutment bearing surfaces 53 and 52 or 28 and 29 upon exertion of sufficient pressure. This abutment is best seen in FIG. 3 in the left-hand side of the figure.

Describing the operation of changing handle 57 from the position of FIG. 2 to the position of FIG. 3, that is, reversing handedness, in terms of FIG. 7, briefly, starting from the full line position in the upper left-hand corner of FIG. 7, handle 57 is pulled out to the left, then rotated up in a clockwise direction to the most right-hand dotted position of the right-hand upper side of the figure and then pushed to the left in the view to the engaged locked position.

Turning to the procedure of translating the lower grasping handle 60 from the position of FIG. 2 to that of FIG. 3, reference is made to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 7. FIG. 7 shows the sequence best. Starting from the full line position to the lower left in FIG. 7, the handle is swung in a counterclockwise direction according to the arrow A some to the position designated B. At this point, the handle 60 is dangling down at right angles to the operating head 20 suspended only by the pins 64 in the pin-ways 40 and 65. The handle 60 is then moved directly upwardly a suflicient distance to move the pin 64' out of the pin receiving well in the pin-ways 40 and 65 and then translated to the left in the view of FIG. 7 into the free zone defined by spaces 34 and 67. It should be noted that the handle is now completely free of the operating head and could be moved any way relative thereto without moving the operating head. However, to keep it simple, the handle is then moved from the free position C according to the arrow D (the curve indicates pins 64 duck under bearing bosses 37 and 68 and from thence to position E). This brings the pins 64 immediately opposite the entryways into the pin-ways 39 and 66. Motion then according to arrow F engages the pins 64 in the pin-ways and passes the pins down into the engaging sockets thereof with the end of handle 60 carrying the pins passing under the other leaf of spring '73. This results in the handle still being at right angles to the head 20 in a position G. From this position,

according to the arrow H, a 90 or thereabout arc may be made up into the position I in the lower right-hand portion of FIG. 7.

Redescri bing the same operation in terms of FIGS. 2 and 3, starting in the position of FIG. 2, handle 60 would be swung approximately 90 in a clockwise direction. The handle would then be forced vertically upwardly a little to spring the pins 64 out of the pin sockets in the pinways 39 and 66. From thence, and against the pressure of spring 73, the handle 60, still at right angles to the head 20, would be translated from left to right in the view until the pins 64 would pass through the clear zone defined by areas 67 and 34 to an opposition position at the entrances to the pin-ways 39 and 66. A further translation to the right, still in the right angle depended position against the load of the other side of the leaf spring 73, pops the spring 64 down into the pin wells of the said pin-ways 39 and 66. A substantially 90 arc in a clockwise direction then brings the handle 60 into the position of FIG. 3.

The operation of the can opener in the position of FIG. 3 is identical to that of the arrangement of FIG. 1, except that it would operate on the opposite side of any given can.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a hand-operated can opener, the combination including and operating head having an upper and a lower portion thereof, said operating head having a first slot in the upper portion thereof with a handle mounting pin running transversely thereof, an upper grasping handle engaging said handle mounting pin with an elongate slot therein and extending into said first slot, the portion of the operating head defining the first slot, the upper grasping handle and the portion of the latter defining the slot therein so formed whereby to permit substantial arcuate translation of said first grasping handle relative to said operating head from one fixed operating position to another, said operating head also having a recess in the lower portion thereof and a pair of substantially opposed pin-ways communicating with said recess, and a lower grasping handle engageable and disengageable with said pin-ways in substantially 180 arcuate translation of said handle relative to said grasping head by means of at least one pin thereon.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 including a cutter wheel rotatably mounted on one of the second grasping handle and operating head.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 including a feed wheel and an operating handle therefor rotatably mounted on one of the second grasping handle and operating head.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1 including a feed wheel rotatably mounted with an operating handle on the second grasping handle and a cutter wheel rotatably mounted on the operating head.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1 including opposed sets of pin-ways in said operating head and opposed pins on the second grasping handle engageable and disengageable therewith.

6. Apparatus as in claim 1 including resilient means cushioning the locking engagements of the first grasping handle with the operating head.

7. Apparatus as in claim 1 including resilient means securing the pin engagement of the second grasping handle with the operating head.

No references cited. 

